Garden City Park firemen work on thin ice

The Island Now

Motorists driving by the frozen pond at the southeast corner of the intersection of Herricks Road and Shelter Rock Road last Sunday may have thought they were seeing an icewater rescue in progress.

In fact, rumors quickly spread that three children had fallen through the ice on the pond, according to Garden City Park Fire Department Chief William Rudnick.

But what motorists were actually seeing, Rudnick said, was a training exercise.

Members of the Garden City Park Fire Department were getting their certification for performing an icewater rescue during the nine-hour training section.

There are nine bodies of water located in their coverage area, Rudnick said, explaining the exercise.

“We trained 33 guys to the level of technician so they can pull people out of the water,” Rudnick said. “We ‘re going into the season now where kids get stuck in the ice.”

The department spent approximately $5,000 on new equipment and wet suits to replace suits that were so old that they were drying out, according to Rudnick.

The 33 members of the department participating in the training exercise conducted by Lifeguard Systems, which certified them to comply with standards set by the National Fire Protection Association.

The volunteer firefighters took turns playing rescuers and victims during the exercise organized by second assistant chief Robert Mirabile, who said it was an exhausting process.

On Saturday, Lifeguard Systems conducted a classroom session with the firefighters and reviewed the rescue exercise techniques before the volunteers went out to the pond.

Now that the firefighters are trained, they’ll be able to assist nearby fire departments, which routinely cooperate with one another on many emergency calls.

“Obviously, now that we the training, we’re available to our neighboring departments that have bodies of water,” Rudnick said.

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